My Memoirs - Citizen of the World
My Memoirs - Citizen of the World
My Memoirs - Citizen of the World
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<strong>the</strong> family and <strong>the</strong>ir children who taught us about <strong>the</strong> rich history<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first family <strong>of</strong> Christchurch. The next morning we traversed<br />
<strong>the</strong> countryside to New Zealand’s Queenstown to Mt. Cook<br />
National Park. Mt. Cook is one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most impressive mountains<br />
in <strong>the</strong> world. I took a helicopter ride to <strong>the</strong> top <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> mountain to<br />
see <strong>the</strong> home <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> highest mountains with skyscraping peaks,<br />
glaciers and permanent snow fields. It was <strong>the</strong>re that Sir Edmund<br />
Hillary developed his climbing skills in preparation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> conquest<br />
<strong>of</strong> Mount Everest. I stopped for a moment and thought to myself,<br />
walking on <strong>the</strong> glaciers and observing <strong>the</strong> incredible view. “Is this<br />
real?” I felt I was on top <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world. What an incredible<br />
experience…<br />
We spent <strong>the</strong> night in a typical hotel and left <strong>the</strong> next morning on a<br />
cruise <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> breathtaking Milford Sound and saw, with our own<br />
eyes, why <strong>the</strong> fjords are <strong>the</strong> most visited sites on New Zealand’s<br />
South Island, with rock faces that rise nearly 4000 feet on ei<strong>the</strong>r<br />
side. It was raining a lot and <strong>the</strong> tour guide said that we were very<br />
lucky, because it was very unusual to observe so many magnificent<br />
fjords. We also took a tour to <strong>the</strong> Safari <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Rings that led us to<br />
<strong>the</strong> site where <strong>the</strong> famous movie “Lord <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Rings” was filmed.<br />
We went back to Christchurch and travelled up <strong>the</strong> winding coast<br />
to Picton, where we boarded <strong>the</strong> Interisland Ferry through <strong>the</strong><br />
Marlborough Sound and crossed <strong>the</strong> Cook Strait, and arrived that<br />
evening in <strong>the</strong> capital city <strong>of</strong> Wellington. The next morning we<br />
toured Wellington, New Zealand’s Parliament and o<strong>the</strong>r sites and<br />
<strong>the</strong>n continued on to Rotorua, which was <strong>the</strong> highlight <strong>of</strong> our trip<br />
to <strong>the</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Island. Being born on a volcanic island <strong>of</strong> St.<br />
Miguel in <strong>the</strong> Azores with a few small hot springs, my wife and I<br />
were amazed by <strong>the</strong> landscape and <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> geysers,<br />
bubbling mud pools and o<strong>the</strong>r geo<strong>the</strong>rmal wonders for miles. It<br />
was so large that <strong>the</strong> entire city’s energy is supplied by <strong>the</strong> heat<br />
from <strong>the</strong> geysers and hot springs. I remember seeing <strong>the</strong> front and<br />
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